Telecommunication networks such as voice, data and video networks have conventionally been customized for the type of traffic each is to transport. For example, voice traffic is very latency sensitive but quality is less important, so voice networks are designed to transport voice traffic with limited latency. Traditional data traffic, such as, e.g., a spreadsheet, on the other hand is not latency sensitive, but error-free delivery is required. Conventional telecommunications networks use circuit switching to achieve acceptable end user quality of service (QoS). With the advent of new packet switching high bandwidth data networks, different types of traffic can be transported over a data network. Specifically, convergence of separate voice, data and video networks into a single broadband telecommunications network is enabled. To ensure end user satisfaction, a system is desired that provides QoS for various types of traffic to be transported.
Wireless networks present particular challenges over their wireline counterparts in delivering QoS. For example, wireless networks traditionally exhibit high bit error rates (BER) due to a number of reasons. Conventional wireless networks also implement circuit switched connections to provide reliable communications channels. However the use of circuit switched connections allocates bandwidth between communicating nodes whether or not traffic is constantly being transferred between the nodes. Therefore, circuit switched connections use communications bandwidth rather inefficiently.
Packet switching makes more efficient use of available bandwidth than does traditional circuit switching. Packet switching breaks up traffic into so-called “packets” which can then be transported from a source node to a destination for reassembly. Thus a particular portion of bandwidth can be shared by many sources and destinations yielding more efficient use of bandwidth.
A wireless broadband access telecommunications system is desired which can provide a QoS capability that is comparable to that delivered by wireline broadband access devices. Conventionally, one of the barriers to the deployment of wireless broadband access systems has been the absence of acceptable QoS characteristics, while at the same time delivering bandwidth sufficient to qualify as broadband. Delivery of raw bandwidth over wireless media without acceptable QoS would not benefit end users. Likewise, the delivery of a high level of QoS at the cost of sufficient bandwidth would also not benefit end users.
Conventional efforts to provide wireless broadband access systems have not granted sufficient priority to QoS as a guiding principle in architecting the wireless systems, resulting in sub-optimal designs. With the rapid emergence of the Internet, the packet switching paradigm, and transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) as a universal data protocol, it has become clear that a new wireless system design has become necessary.
What is needed then is an IP-centric wireless broadband access system with true QoS capabilities.